A budding poet and his adoring mother are the central characters of this intriguing early novel by Milan Kundera. He takes us through the young man's fantasies and love affairs in a characteristic tour de force, alive with wit, eroticism and ideas.
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"Tender and unsparing..."Life Is Elsewhere is a remarkable portrait of an artist as a young man."--"Newsweek"I will say no more about this lacerating book except to urge it upon all who care about literature in our difficult era."--"Boston Globe"A sly and merciless lampoon of revolutionary romanticism...Kundera commits some of the funniest literary savaging since Evelyn Waugh polished off Dickens in "A Handful of Dust."--"Time
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
The French-Czech novelist Milan Kundera was born in the Czech Republic and has lived in France since 1975.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Milan Kundera is an author whose style is so unique and idiosyncratic that you will either love him or hate him. I am firmly in the first category. The psychological examination which he puts his characters through dissects their personas to such a magnificent extent as to believe they are real people. In this novel, one of his lesser known early books, Kundera examines the life of a poet, from the time of his conception, to his untimely death. Against the backdrop of Czechoslovakia's struggle with Communism, the young poet searches for a way to fit into this ever changing world. But in this book it is the poet's alter-ego Xavier - a chameleonic character who emerges from one dream into another, never waking to the awful struggles of reality - who is the touch of genius, living the fantasy life that the poet can only dream of. If you love Milan Kundera then search this little gem out, you will find few better examinations of the literary psyche.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I read this book for the first time when I was sixteen and it was the first intelligent fiction I had come across. Since then I have re-read it many times. I still love it. The characters in the book may be one-dimensional, but its a big dimension. I like the fact the characters dont seem to change who they are, but rather just change externally according to where they are in their lives. It does seem that Milan Kundera has chosen one characteristic for each person and built on that. And its fantastic the way he does it. And I think he does that in all his novels. This is my favorite of his.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Dr Karl
Format:Paperback
Written shortly after the Prague Spring of 1967, this is a neglected masterpiece. While keeping the focus away from the dismal political drama that was unfolding in his country, there is no doubt that every page of this book is imbued with the darkness of the period. At the same time, it is amazing to reflect on the power thet poetry enjoyed in those days - poems could be acts of defiance, rebellion, betrayal or capitulation in a way that would be inconceivable in our consumption obsessed culture.
Kundera's protagonists are not unsympathetic at all, but nor do they invite quick and simple identification and empathy. They are portrayed in all their complexity, ambivalence and looming madness. The book has several unexpected and throughly convincing turns and Kundera's weaving of incidents and stories from different poets (most of whom died young) in his narrative is very skillful.
A wonderful novel then, though one that yields its secrets slowly to the patient reader.
Kundera's protagonists are not unsympathetic at all, but nor do they invite quick and simple identification and empathy. They are portrayed in all their complexity, ambivalence and looming madness. The book has several unexpected and throughly convincing turns and Kundera's weaving of incidents and stories from different poets (most of whom died young) in his narrative is very skillful.
A wonderful novel then, though one that yields its secrets slowly to the patient reader.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life is Elsewhere
This is a savage, violent book. It demands the reader to constantly analyse himself and confess his own closeness to a number of the misdemenours of the main protagonist, Jaromil... Read more
Published 21 months ago by D. Gwynne
2.0 out of 5 stars
Life Is elsewhere, indeed
LIE is about a poet who is spoilt, infantile and ultimatly a failure. Set against a back-drop of communist Czechoslovakia our (anti? Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2003 by Alex Magpie
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed bag
Here Kundera uses the historical setting of the Communist "pseudo-revolution" ("imported from Russia, and carried out under the protection of the Police and the... Read more
Published on 27 May 2001 by T. BRANNEY
4.0 out of 5 stars
A novel about growing up and many other things
Kundera tells the story of a young man whose immaturity makes him almost socially dysfunctional. The main character tries desperately to get a life by trying to show an... Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb.
The author has the spatial and temporal awareness of an eagle and the imagination of a Renaissance artist. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2000 by Bloke
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